July 2, 1968: Rock promoter Bill Graham at the Fillmore West, which was formerly the Carousel Ballroom.

July 2, 1968: Rock promoter Bill Graham at the Fillmore West, which was formerly the Carousel Ballroom.

Photo: Peter Breinig, The Chronicle

Image 9 of 19

Bill Graham gives his young son David a piggyback ride, San Francisco, 1969. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

Bill Graham gives his young son David a piggyback ride, San Francisco, 1969. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

Photo: Bonnie MacLean

Image 10 of 19

Mick Jagger, 1971. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

Mick Jagger, 1971. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

Photo: Michael Zagaris

Image 11 of 19

1971: Rock promoter Bill Graham during a press conference.

1971: Rock promoter Bill Graham during a press conference.

Photo: William Young, The Chronicle

Image 12 of 19

“The Silver Megaphone Award” was given to Bill Graham by the Rolling Stones in 1972.

“The Silver Megaphone Award” was given to Bill Graham by the Rolling Stones in 1972.

Photo: Skirball Cultural Center

Image 13 of 19

Bill Graham at his Marin County home with son Alex in 1978.

Bill Graham at his Marin County home with son Alex in 1978.

Photo: Marcia Sult Godinez

Image 14 of 19

These boots worn by the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards during the “Tattoo You” tour were presented to Bill Graham in 1982.

These boots worn by the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards during the “Tattoo You” tour were presented to Bill Graham in 1982.

Photo: Skirball Cultural Center

Image 15 of 19

A menorah, above, and a telephone, left, were damaged when the Bill Graham Presents offices were firebombed in 1985 after he organized a protest of President Ronald Reagan’s visit to a German cemetery.

A menorah, above, and a telephone, left, were damaged when the Bill Graham Presents offices were firebombed in 1985 after he organized a protest of President Ronald Reagan’s visit to a German cemetery.

Photo: Skirball Cultural Center

Image 16 of 19

This telephone from the Bill Graham Presents offices was damaged in a firebombing May 7, 1985.

This telephone from the Bill Graham Presents offices was damaged in a firebombing May 7, 1985.

Photo: Skirball Cultural Center

Image 17 of 19

U2 performs a free concert at the Justin Herman Plaza. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

U2 performs a free concert at the Justin Herman Plaza. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

Photo: Ken Friedman

Image 18 of 19

Bill Graham between takes during the filming of “A '60s Reunion with Bill Graham: A Night at the Fillmore”. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Bill Graham between takes during the filming of “A '60s Reunion with Bill Graham: A Night at the Fillmore”. On view March 17-July 5, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Photo: Ken Friedman

Image 19 of 19

Bill Graham’s legacy celebrated at Contemporary Jewish Museum

1 / 19

Back to Gallery

There aren’t many museum exhibitions devoted to the life of a concert promoter. Then again, Bill Graham wasn’t just any concert promoter. And his was no ordinary life.

For a quarter of a century, Graham was rock ’n’ roll’s greatest live music impresario. Between his inconspicuous start with a benefit concert for the San Francisco Mime Troupe at the original Fillmore Auditorium in 1965 to his death at age 60 in a helicopter crash on his way home from a performance by Huey Lewis and the News at the Concord Pavilion in October 1991, the Bay Area mogul fundamentally changed the live music business.

Golden Retriever and Rescued Tortoise Make the Most Unlikely Best FriendsStoryful

Friends Tick Off Bucket List With Blindfolded TattoosStoryful

Kylie Jenner's First Selfies Since Pregnancy Story BrokeWochit

'Teen Mom' Star Jenelle Evans Is Married — See Her Wedding Pics!Wochit

During his reign, Graham, a special inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, established the Fillmore franchise, shepherded the evolution of stadium tours and produced one-of-a-kind rock ’n’ roll events such as the Band’s “Last Waltz” and Live Aid; in the process helping to launch the careers of acts like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin.

This year marks what would have been Graham’s 85th birthday, and to celebrate the occasion, his life story will be the subject of the exhibit “Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution,” at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, which opens Thursday, March 17 and runs through July 5.

The retrospective, featuring everything from vintage psychedelic concert posters to a battered pair of Keith Richards’ leather boots, was originally produced for the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles last year — inspired by a much smaller show at the Jazz Heritage Center in San Francisco in 2011.

Graham’s story goes beyond his multimillion-dollar business empire. He was a survivor of the Holocaust, born Wulf Wolodia “Wolfgang” Grajonca to Russian immigrants in Berlin in 1931 and sent across Europe as an orphan to escape the atrocities of war at age 8. Suffering from malnutrition and rickets, he arrived in 1941 in America, where he was taken in by a foster family in the Bronx.

He changed his name, picking “Graham” out of the phone book, and spent years adrift — working as a maître d’ in the Catskills, attempting to get a break as an actor and serving time in the Army during the Korean War, during which he was both court-martialed and decorated.

It wasn’t until he was in his mid-30s that Graham made his way to the West Coast and found his calling as rock ’n’ roll’s grand ringmaster, producing a benefit concert for the San Francisco Mime Troupe. It was the 1960s. The Bay Area music scene was exploding. He was in the right place at the right time. He was also the right guy — a tough-as-nails businessman with considerable charm.

In the concert business, he was loved and hated, often by the same people.

“His particular story, that biographical narrative, has so much richness,” says Lori Starr, the executive director of the Contemporary Jewish Museum. “Great museum shows tell great stories, and his story is a great story.”

The exhibition features about 400 objects, including a photo of him arriving in New York Harbor; the original apple barrel and “Take One or Two” sign that greeted guests at the Fillmore and the model for the giant menorah that is lit every year in San Francisco’s Union Square. The model is scorched, a reminder of the 1985 firebombing of Graham’s offices after he put together protests against President Ronald Reagan’s planned visit to a German cemetery where SS officers were buried.

There are several multimedia elements, as well, including a looping soundtrack that includes live recordings of Aretha Franklin at the Fillmore West, Neil Young at the Fillmore East, Jimi Hendrix at Winterland, and several other classic recordings.

“Even if you weren’t alive, these are cultural moments that are part of our shared experience,” Starr says. “If you were alive, you might have been present at one of those concerts; that triggers rich memory, dialogue and community. It’s a chance to share this experience with children and grandchildren, friends to share it with friends.”

The exhibition also includes narration by Graham’s own voice, captured in interviews by Robert Greenfield, who co-wrote his biography, “My Life Inside Rock and Out.”

Hearing Graham speak and seeing the objects that made up the milestones in his life, visitors will get not only a sense of his determination as a concert promoter but the essence of his individuality, from the harrowing upbringing to his mercurial temper and his meticulous attention to detail.

“My lasting picture of him is walking across the field at Day on the Green picking up trash in the middle of the show,” says Dawn Holliday, who produces the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.

“One of the things about Bill was that he had a real refugee mentality — he wasn’t intimidated by people, whether it was a politician or an artist,” says Gregg Perloff, the former CEO of Bill Graham Presents who now heads Another Planet Entertainment. “He wanted to make sure the customer had a good time. Whatever affected the customer, whether the hot dog was hot or someone didn’t wait in line too long, he made sure the audience got what they wanted.”

Graham spearheaded several high-profile fundraisers, such as the U.S. segment of 1985’s Live Aid concert for famine relief in Ethiopia and Amnesty International’s 1988 Human Rights Now tour.

After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Graham produced three separate benefits on the same day and matched the $1 million in donations collected through a telethon and threw in another million from his personal savings.

The concert from which Graham was returning when the fatal helicopter crash occurred was a benefit for victims of the 1991 Oakland hills fire.

“Looking back on it, he really was the first person to gather the power of musical performers and turn it into philanthropic endeavors,” Simmons says. “Bill was quite a generous guy.”

After his death, more than 300,000 people attended a free memorial concert for Graham called “Laughter, Love and Music” at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park with the Grateful Dead; Santana; John Fogerty; Joan Baez; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; a reunited Journey; Robin Williams; and many others.

Bobby McFerrin summed up the mood of the day best. “It’s like a piece of the sky fell,” he said.

The exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum may evoke the same sentiment.

“It’s the kind of experience that moves you and stirs within you memory and emotion and happiness and thoughtfulness and reflection,” Starr says. “At the end of the day, that’s what museums do — they allow you to walk out in the world and see things different.”

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.